Page 25 of Not Fooling Anyone

We will?

She squeezes my hand harder and I spring into action, sitting in the empty seat, hesitant as she slides on my lap. I instinctively hold her waist to help balance her as she settles in place, my hands itching to pull her closer, grip her tighter, discover the soft warmth of her right underneath that hoodie.

Pretty sure she’d slap me upside the head if I tried, though, even with trying to make Savannah jealous.

Christian chuckles at us. “Creative.”

Amber points a finger between Lexie and Savannah. “You said her name. Do you guys know each other?”

“Yeah, small world,” Savannah replies. “We went to high school together.” She turns to face us. “I’m not sure I ever heard you talk, though. You were usually busy doingotherthings.”

An awkward silence descends over the table after her weird emphasis on the wordother. What the hell is this girl’s problem?

“Like making honor roll,” I pipe up. “You were salutatorian. Right, babe?”

Lexie gives a jerky nod, her body tensing. “Right.”

Savannah’s brows narrow again. “You were?”

“Mm-hmm. Hey, why don’t we get started studying?”

Not the smoothest transition, but I help her seize on it, pulling my textbook out of my backpack and setting it down in front of her on the table.

The other girl, Heather, introduces herself, as well as the guy, Patrick, and then we get to it. Lexie doesn’t contribute much to the conversation, but fishes in her bag for her notebook, taking notes of everything that goes on.

As for me, I’m limited as to what I can do due to the girl on my lap, but it’s not like I’d take notes anyway. I’m an auditory learner. And while I would normally join in more, I’m too focused on the way Lexie keeps shifting atop me.

Leaning forward to write something down. Turning to face someone who’s talking. Wiggling to get into a more comfortable position.

It’s pure torture.

Imagining her moving on me in a different way, me pumping into her, our bodies slick with sweat, her hoarse cries…

Shit. Coupled with her repositioning herself, my dick responds to the new train of thought, eager to explore it further.

Maybe tonight alone in bed, but now’s not the time or place.

My hands tighten on her waist, stopping her from scooting back. “You’ve got to stop moving so much,” I whisper in her ear.

She glances over her shoulder, looking peeved. “I’m trying to get comfortable.”

“Well, you’re making me a littletoocomfortable.”

I pointedly look down, her eyes widening as she catches my drift. She goes still, gaze flicking south, not that she can see anything.

She whips back around, barely moving until the pizza arrives. I offer to go downstairs and collect it from the delivery guy, using the opportunity to adjust myself so no one’s the wiser.

I cede the chair to her for the remainder of our time, perfectly content to stand behind her, and avoid Savannah as we make our goodbyes an hour later, not wanting to get caught in whatever weird rivalry they have going on.

Lexie grabs my hand once more for the short trek to the stairwell, her slim fingers still chilly, and lets go as soon as we’re out of sight of the others.

Once we’re outside, I say, “All right, you’ve got to let me in on this beef the two of you have.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she mutters, crossing her arms.

“You voluntarily held my hand,” I point out. “Whatever it is must be serious.”

She’s silent, picking up her pace when we get to the parking lot.

---